


the light at the end of the tunnel (I sure hope its not a train)

by SwimFreak31



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:53:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29623758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwimFreak31/pseuds/SwimFreak31
Summary: Angus MacGyver wasn’t alone. Nine months since the dam. Nine months since his aunt died. Nine months since he started his campaign for environmental improvement. He’d spent that time thinking he was alone, no other blood relatives out there. He was wrong.Disclaimer: I started writing this in December of 2020, so it is not canon with anything after about 5x04
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Angus MacGyver wasn’t alone. Nine months since the dam. Nine months since his aunt died. Nine months since he started his campaign for environmental improvement. He’d spent that time thinking he was alone, no other blood relatives out there. He was wrong.

Mac had spent the last three days watching Russ, Matty, and Desi interrogate the girl. She told them repeatedly that she knew nothing, and Mac had started to believe her. Nobody else believed her, so she had spent three days in the interrogation room with no rest. 

The team converged in the war room, the girl up on the big screen. Russ seemed defeated. Riley was typing away at her computer, pulling files and hacking into databases. Matty was staring at the screen, studying her. Desi seemed angry, pacing around the room. Bozer was wringing his hands. The girl on the screen was an enigma. She hadn’t told them anything about Codex or Gwen, or even seemed like she knew anything.

“Okay, I’m just gonna say it,” Bozer said. “Either she’s really good or…”

“Or she knows nothing,” Mac finished.

“No conclusions yet, we don’t have enough information” Matty said. “Riley, where are we at with finding information on her?”

“I’ve got nothing yet. Everything seems legit. She’s got a birth certificate, social security number, school reports, medical records. It’s all there” Riley scanned over the pages.

“The records could be falsified,” Russ suggested.

“They could be, but this much stuff would take a lot of work to maintain for 19, almost 20, years. I’ll look for some sort of slip up, some bit of information that doesn’t work, but I don’t think I’ll find it” 

Desi turned to Matty. “Just let me…”

“No” Matty seemed set on her answer. “We just go in there and punch her hoping for answers isn’t a good idea. She’s held up for three days already. We need a new plan”

For the first time, Mac spoke up. “Let me talk to her”

“Absolutely not! You are too close to this as it is” Russ looked uncomfortable.

“Maybe that’s what she needs, someone who’s talking to her like a person, not like an operative” Russ opened his mouth to protest it, but closed before he could say anything. Mac continued “Let me try. Please”

And before he knew it, Mac was being let into the interrogation room. It was the same one they had held Scarlet in, yet the person they were holding couldn’t be more different. He sat down across from her, opening his body language the best he could.

“Hi, my name is Mac. I just wanted to talk with you for a bit,” he smiled kindly. “What’s your name?”

The girl stared at him blankly. “Didn’t your friends tell you?”

“Let’s start with a clean slate,” Mac glanced at the camera. “Just me and you”

“Frankie,” the girl said plainly. 

“How are you doing, Frankie?”

“Why do you care?” It was meant to sound tough, but came out halfheartedly. 

He asked again.

“Honestly,” she said, lowering her voice, “I’m tired and hungry and I want to go home”

Mac nodded sympathetically. “Well, let’s work on that, shall we?”

She nodded.

“Tell me about Gwendolyn Heyes” 

“You mean my mother?”

The words weren’t a surprise, but still hit Mac with some force. He knew it was true, but every time someone said it was a surprise to him. “Yes. Can you tell me about her?”

Frankie was silent for a moment. Mac knew it may take time. So he sat, patiently waiting to speak.

“She was supposed to be celebrating my birthday with me the day she died”

That’s all Frankie offered. Mac knew he would have to coax more out of her. It would be a slow process. 

“She skipped it to go to the dam. To be there. You spent my birthday with my mother”

It wasn’t accusing, more a statement of facts mixed with mild bitterness, but it still stung. Mac gaped.

“You know…”

“...who you are? Of course I do”

“Oh”

She offered him the first genuine smile he had seen from her. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have put it that way. I’m just…”

She sighed, deflating. In that moment she slid from tough and stoic to a tired, scared young woman. Mac resisted the urge to try to comfort her.

“Just tell me what you know and we’ll let you go back to your life”

Frankie wiggled in her seat, chewing over her next words. “What if I don’t want to go back to my old life?”

Mac had to bite his lip to stifle his surprise. The war room had probably just descended into chaos, people talking simultaneously, attempting to process the bomb that had just been dropped. But Mac wasn’t in the war room and he had to keep his head on straight. 

“What do you mean?”

Frankie sat up, leaning towards Mac. “My whole life has been dictated by my mother or by Codex. Even at college, I was just waiting for the call that Codex needed me for something. I want that to change. I want to make something of myself. For myself”

Mac matched her poise, leaning forward. “If you tell us what we need, I’ll do what I can to for you”

“Okay,” Frankie agreed. “But, can we do that tomorrow? I just really want to rest for a bit”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mac stood, turning towards the door. 

“Wait,” Mac turned back to Frankie. “We were supposed to be the middle ground, you and I. We were supposed to be the ones who could find the solution. Save the world and the people. Keep that in mind”

Mac nodded, running her words through his head on his trip back to the war room. He stepped in and all eyes were on him.

“So?” Matty asked.

“She’s genuine,” Mac said. He was convinced, but the rest of the team wasn’t quite there yet. “Let’s give her a shot”

“Hold on,” Russ put out a hand, “what are you suggesting?”

“We let her sleep…”

“No no no, after that.” Russ stared at Mac. “What comes after?”

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet,” Mac confessed. He looked around to his team. “Listen, I know that trust isn’t our strongest facet right now. Let’s take this one step at a time”

“Okay,” Matty said. “Let’s reconvene tomorrow morning. We all need the rest”

“We should let her know…”

“No,” Russ cut Mac off. “I’ll move her to the holding cell. You’ve all done enough for the day. Go home, get some rest”

The others filed out after Russ. Mac stayed in the room. He waited until the others had cleared, then pulled up Frankie on the big screen. Russ stepped into the interrogation room.

“You know who we are?” He asked.

“Yes,” she responded. “Leland made me memorize your whole team, in case you came for me”

“And you’re willing to just give up Codex for a good night’s sleep?” Russ studied her. In the screen, Mac could see Frankie’s eyes dart up to the camera.

“No. I’m willing to give up Codex because they’re wrong and the only other person that I know of who can help me convince them of that is working with you. My cousin, Angus?” Frankie offered his name to Russ, tilting her head. “I care about the planet and the people on it. Can’t we agree that saving everyone is worth throwing away sides for?”

“Are you really suggesting we work with mass murderers to save the world?”

“Are you?” Frankie challenged. “Codex at its core isn’t supposed to endorse mass murder. That was just Leland’s interpretation of it. There are good people who work at Codex, scientists that want to improve the world we live in. If we can…”

Frankie faded off, her face falling. From the camera angle, Mac couldn’t see Russ’s face but he assumed Russ’s reaction was what cut her off.

“Look, let’s both get a good night of rest and then, in the morning, we can try again,” Frankie said. “I don’t know much about Codex now, but if what I tell you helps you save lives I’m willing to cooperate”

Russ nodded offscreen, where two guards unhooked her from the table and led her out the door. Mac turned the big screen off, rushing out of the war room and to his car. The whole ride home his head was spinning. ‘We were supposed to be the middle ground’, she had said to him as he left. ‘We’ implied them, but could there be others? ‘Supposed’ left open the idea that they had pre-set purposes for their lives, but maybe they had missed their purposes? And ‘middle ground’. What did that mean? Between Codex and the Phoenix, or was it something more than that? 

Mac had searched for a different solution. But maybe, it occurred to him, he couldn’t find one because he was working alone. Maybe Frankie was right, it would take both of them to find a solution. 

He didn’t sleep that night. Rather, Mac spent the whole night going through Frankie’s life story, getting to know every detail about her that he could. He went over their conversation over and over in his head, mapping out what each of the scenarios could mean. No matter where his mind wandered, Frankie was always there. 


	2. Chapter 2

The team reconvened in the war room the next morning at 8 o’clock sharp. 

“What’s the plan?” Desi asked. 

“I think it would be best if Angus is there,” Russ said. Mac was surprised. The day before, Russ had been against Mac being involved at all and here he was, suggesting that Mac join the interrogation. “She seems to react the best when he’s around”

“Okay,” Matty agreed. “But someone else should go in too. To keep the objectivity”

Her eyes moved to Russ, the logical choice for interrogation. He looked to Riley.

“Riley, she hasn’t met you yet. I think you should be the one in there,” Russ sounded bitter as the word came out.

Desi stepped forward. “I get why Mac should go in, but why Riley? No offense, but she’s not the best in interrogation”

“But Riley hasn’t met Frankie yet. So she’s neutral for now,” Bozer guessed.

Russ smiled with a hint of pride. “Exactly right, Bozer. Frankie already thinks of Desi, Matty, and I as opponents. She sees us come in and her first instinct will be to shut down and say nothing”

“So it’s settled,” Matty said. “Mac, Riley, you two will lead the interrogation. Desi, Russ, go to the observation room. I want you there in case something happens. Bozer and I will watch from here”

As they left, Russ pulled Mac aside and pressed something into his hand. “I want you to wear this”

It was an in-ear communication device, one that they used on missions all the time. Mac rolled the device in his fingers. “Why?”

“I want to be able to communicate with you. Discreetly,” Russ said. “If you feel that it will interfere with your work, you don’t have to. But I would certainly feel better if you had it on you”

“Did Matty agree to this?” Mac asked.

“I ran it by Matilda and she approved,” Russ seemed frustrated. Matty was the default leader of the team, which seemed to annoy Russ more than he let on. 

“Okay,” Mac agreed. “But I reserve the right to turn it off if I feel I need to”

Russ nodded, turning off to join Desi in the observation room. Mac found Riley outside the interrogation room doors.

“Hey,” she greeted. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” His voice was steady, but his shaking hands betrayed him. Riley wrapped his hands in hers.

“Just a conversation,” she assured him.

“Just a conversation,” he repeated back. They entered the interrogation room together, side by side. Frankie was waiting eagerly for them, beaming.

“Good morning,” Frankie’s face fell when she saw Riley. Mac passed a look between her and Riley. Frankie already seemed to be sizing up Riley, who stayed as unthreatening as possible. “Why’d you bring her?” Frankie asked as politely, though still defensive.

“Frankie, this is Riley. She’s just here as my backup,” Riley nodded behind him.

He realized the weakness the statement pointed out the moment the words came out of his mouth and Frankie shifted. “And why would you need backup? I’m chained to a table, can’t really do much,” she quipped, smirking cockily. She was trying to gauge his reaction and see what he would give her. 

Mac didn’t justify the quip with a response, moving to sit across the table from Frankie. They studied each other for a moment. Mac noticed the similarities and differences. Frankie had similar mannerism and habits, like fiddling with her hands under the table and constantly darting her eyes around the room to assess the surroundings. She also looked enough like Mac to be convincingly his cousin, with the same blond hair and a slightly softened version of his jawline. There were a few striking differences. Where he had inherited the signature sharp blue Hayes eyes, she had somehow ended up with dark green eyes. Her hair was also much more subdued, effortlessly lying flat and tidy against her head. They were so similar that it frightened him.

Frankie pulled him out of his trance. “Is there something in my teeth?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

“She’s using humor as a defense mechanism” Russ noted through the earpiece. Mac tensed, nodding in response.

“So, who are you chatting with?” Frankie asked. “I mean, they must be much more interesting than me”

“What?” Mac gaped. He had expected her to connect the dots on his earpiece at some point, but not this quickly. And he hadn’t expected her to call him out on it so blatantly. 

She motioned to her ear. “Your earpiece. Who’s talking to you?”

“You’re good,” Riley commented before Mac could respond.

“You did let me have a good night of sleep, so…” The girls shared a knowing smile. “So, down to business?”

Mac nodded, not commenting on the dropped subject of the earpiece. “So, what do you know about Codex that might be able to help us?”

“I know about the off the grid, back door communication channels they use to send encrypted information to operators around the world. Can’t really show you that stuff without a computer, though, so maybe we’ll set aside that subject for a later date” Frankie seemed to think long and hard for something. She seemed to settle on something. “What’s today’s date?”

“Uh…” Riley looked to Mac for permission. He nodded. “The 19th. Why?”

“Good, there’s still time. Tomorrow, at noon, there’s a planned attack on Corpus Christi, Texas. It’s sounds strange but it’s one of the least environmentally friendly cities in the country and Codex plans to make an example out of it”

“Fix your problem or we fix you,” Riley mused.

“Exactly. Raze a town that’s destroying the world and promise it’ll happen again if no actions are taken to improve environmental sustainability in cities”

“How is it happening?”

“That I don’t know. Everything was compartmentalized. And that information was way above my pay grade” Frankie scoffed. “I’m lucky I was snooping in the first place”

“Snooping?” Mac asked, surprised. 

Frankie giggled. “You think they let just anybody know about this stuff?” Her smile continued as she spoke. “Most members of Codex don’t know about that side of the organization. They’re scientists, city planners, teachers, inventors. People who believe the world can still change. They think they’re working for an organization that is trying to save the planet through legislation and scientific discovery and social change, not terrorism”

“How can they not…?”

“They’re good people, Mac. And good people want to assume the best about everything, until they’re given a reason why. They don’t want it to be true, so they don’t even consider it”

Riley paced in the corner. “So, what, they think they’re working for a think tank?”

“Scientific collective… but yes”

Russ’s voice came through Mac’s earpiece. “She promised us information. We can talk about morals later”

Mac glared at the camera in the corner of the room. It was evident that Russ still didn’t completely trust him, but it seemed he was gaining back some of the trust slowly. “We can discuss this further later. Right now, we need information. What else do you know?”

Frankie’s tone shifted. “Uh, not much. A lot of it is communication network based, stuff I need a computer to show you. Oh and my notebook!”

“Your notebook?”

“It was in my backpack when you brought me in. It won’t be too helpful without a decryption key. Everything is encoded with a cypher I invented when I was a kid”

“You invented a cypher as a child?”

“I was 6 and I was bored. Took me a day or two to perfect but it's been unbreakable so far. I’m pretty proud of it,” Frankie boasted. “Though, I imagine with enough time and a few hints, your friend Taylor might be able to figure it out”

“Uh, Riley, can you go get that for me?”

“I’m on it” 

Her departure left them alone in the room. 

“So…”

“So…?”

Mac sighed, tapping his ear and turning off the earpiece. 

“That's better,” Frankie quipped. “Let me guess, Russ Taylor has been yapping in your ear since we first started?”

Mac nodded.

“So, what is so important that “Boy Scout” Angus MacGyver shuts off his boss?”

“It was something you said last night, when you were talking to Taylor,” Mac replied.

“Wow, Mac, you’re really out here breaking all the rules…” Mac cut her off with a glare. 

“What do you mean by throwing away sides?” Mac asked. “Are you suggesting the Phoenix Foundation tries to work with Codex?”

“I guess…” Frankie sighed. “I don’t know… The way that the Phoenix foundation does things won't fix the big issue in the world. And the way that Codex does things there won’t be much of a world to save. But both sides are so adamant that they are right they refuse to see where the other side is stronger. Sure, you and your team have the moral convictions of Captain America, but Codex is stubborn and willing to do whatever it takes, as many times as they need to, to fix the problem. Neither side is the right side”

“At least the Phoenix foundation didn’t try to kill off a quarter of the world’s population to save the world” Mac said, frustrated.

“At least Codex took measures that would actually change things,” Frankie countered.

“So you do side with Codex,” Mac said.

“Were you not listening to everything I just said?” Frankie huffed. “I’m trying to show you that there’s no right side to this fight. Either we save everyone now and let them die later or kill everyone now and save those who come later. Neither of those are good choices”

“So it's okay to kill people in the name of saving the planet?”

Frankie groaned. “Listen, I’m not here to debate ethics with you. It's the world’s largest trolley problem, well just leave it at that”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“What if we throw away the way we’ve been thinking about the problem and come up with something new? Something that saves the people and the planet”

“Be the middle ground”

Riley burst it, notebook in hand. “I've got it!” She suddenly realized the tense moment she had barged into, hanging her head awkwardly. “Sorry, I can step out…”

“No,” Frankie cut in. “We should get to work”


	3. Chapter 3

Five people sitting in a car in Corpus Christi, Texas with very little leg room, few potty breaks, and horrible music choices is, and never will be anyone’s idea of a fun and pleasurable experience. Especially when one of them is in handcuffs and the person with the worst taste in music is the DJ.

And yet, Mac, Riley, Desi, Russ, and a very grumpy Frankie were in that exact situation, squashed in a car with little ventilation. 

“Anyone up for a game of eye-spy? Eye-spy something blue…” 

Frankie was cut off with glares from all of the other passengers in the car.

“Sorry, didn’t realize that spies hated eye-spy that much,” Frankie chuckled to herself. “Kind of eye-ronic, don't you think?”

“Okay, one more joke and you're going in the trunk,” Desi snapped from the front seat.

“Eye-spy someone in a bad mood,” Riley muttered under her breath. Frankie giggled.

“What now?” Desi demanded.

“Nothing,” Frankie said with a smirk.

“Why are you smirking?” Desi asked. Frankie didn’t reply. Instead she just imitated Desi’s scowl.

“Okay, now listen here you little bitc…”

“Des, she's trying to get under your skin. Just ignore her,” Mac reached forward and patted her on the shoulder. 

“Can we at least listen to better music?” Frankie asked.

“That's it. Where's the duct tape?” Desi started to dig around her bag. As she did, Frankie leaned forward, peering out the window.

Russ pressed a hand to her chest. “Back into the back seat, please”

“Taylor…”

“Backseat or I'll make you…”

“Taylor look!”

Frankie pointed, as best she could, towards a caravan of SUV’s, headed towards the center of town. 

“Codex?” Riley asked.

“Most likely” Russ responded. “We’re moving to follow”

Russ followed the SUV’s down the road. They wound through the city, making their way towards the coast. 

“They’re not going to an oil plant?” Desi asked. “What else is here? Are there any other possible targets?”

“Well, there's the headquarters of Whataburger, a few different military bases, and a major port,” Riley said.

“I think it's safe to assume it's not the Whataburger headquarters,” Mac chimed in.

“The port. A military installation is too risky and a lot of Codex muscle is ex-military. There’s no way they’d attack the military,” Frankie added. 

“We need to get to that port,” Russ floored the gas, turning down another street. “What's the fastest way to get there?”

“Next right”

“What will they do to the port?”

“I don’t know. It would be against Codex’s mission to pollute, so I don’t think they’d explode a ship. They might bomb the port. Or take hostages. Or block access. Or…”

“Hey,” Mac placed a hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “You don’t have to know. It's okay.”

“Improvising isn't really my thing,” Frankie muttered. 

Mac laughed. “Well, good news. Improvising is my specialty”

Russ slammed on the breaks. “We’ve been made”

“What?” Riley asked.

“Well, you did take off after them. We’ve likely been made for a while,” Mac pointed out. 

“Get down,” Desi said, pulling her gun. “Russ, it’s time to use those skills you’ve bragged about”

The car veered violently to the left and gunshots rang out. Desi hadn’t fired, which meant Codex had definitely made them. Russ managed to get them out of the intersection they had stopped in and to a secluded parking lot behind a store.

“Everyone alright?” Russ asked. 

“A little shaken up, but okay,” Mac responded. 

“I don’t think the car is okay. From the sounds it was making…” Riley added, sitting up cautiously.

Russ sighed, “We’ll have to get a new ride”

Desi groaned in the front seat. Frankie reached towards her, shifting her just enough to reveal a large red stain on her clothes. 

“I don't think the car is the only thing that was hit,” Frankie said, leaning over the center console to get a better look. “It’s not life threatening, but she’s losing a lot of blood very quickly”

“Okay. Riles, keep an eye out for Codex. Russ, do you think you can get us a new car?” Mac asked. Russ nodded. “I’ll stay with Frankie and patch up Desi”

“No”

Mac glared at Frankie. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“Russ should stay here and keep a lookout. Riley should dig into the port, see if there's anything that might indicate what's going to happen. You go hotwire a car, or something, and I’ll patch up Desi” Frankie retorted.

“That's not...”

“Look, with Desi hurt, Russ is our best shot. Something tells me you’re not going to trust me with a gun and that Riley isn’t really that type of field agent. So Russ should stay behind and watch us,” Frankie explained. “Besides, we both know you don’t need a gun to protect yourself”

“What about Desi?”

“I know first aid. I can take care of her,” Frankie said.

“I don’t trust you,” Desi groaned weakly.

“Let me have a chance to earn your trust. If I rebel, then Russ can shoot me and we’ll all go on our merry way. Deal?”

Mac considered for a moment. “Fine, do it”

“Good luck!” Frankie shouted after him. Once he disappeared from view, Frankie jumped out of the car and dashed towards the back.

“Stop!” Russ raised his gun at her and she froze.

Frankie held her hands up cautiously. “Easy, Taylor. I’m just getting the first aid kit”

Russ hesitated, then stepped back slowly, keeping his gun on Frankie. She moved slowly, grabbing the first aid kit then moving back to the front of the car. Russ followed her from across the car, keeping an eye on each movement. Frankie glared at him when she caught him peeking.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m pretty sure that Desi can and will still break my arm if I do anything”

“I will,” Desi promised.

They worked silently for a few moments. Eventually Frankie reached for a bottle of water resting in the center console. She opened the bottle and looked at Desi.

“Is now really the best time for a water break?” Desi snarked.

“It's not for drinking. Its for cleaning out your wound”

“Should you be using something a little stronger to clean it out. Like alcohol or peroxide?” Desi asked.

“For something as deep as this, that will just do more harm than good,” Frankie glanced at her sympathetically. “It will still hurt. Are you sure…?”

“Just get it over with”

“Okay,” Frankie’s fingers glanced over the wound, pulling out the bits of Desi’s shirt that were stuck to it. She pressed a towel below.

“Ready?” 

Desi nodded in response, groaning as the water poured over the cut. She grabbed Frankie’s wrist, the one holding the towel, and dug her fingers in. Frankie guided Desi’s hand to the towel and pressed it into the wound.

“Keep pressure on it. I’ll get a dressing,” Frankie said softly. Desi nodded, gritting her teeth. Frankie returned moments later with a dressing. She covered Desi’s wound then wiped her hands, offering a wipe to Desi. “It’ll need stitches, probably, but there’s none in the first aid kit and that needs to be properly disinfected before anything happens”

“Thanks,” Desi said. 

“No problem,” Frankie replied. She handed Desi the water bottle. “You should drink some of this. It will help with the dehydration and blood loss. I’ll go see if Riley needs help”

At that moment, Mac rolled down the street in a minivan. “Last thing left on the rental lot”

“It’ll work,” Russ muttered. “Riley, anything yet?”

“Nope”

“What about Desi?” Mac asked.

“She’s lost a lot of blood and there was no way to properly disinfect or close the wound. I’ve stopped the bleeding and gave her some water, but she needs an actual hospital,” Frankie said quietly. 

“Let's get moving towards the port,” Mac suggested. “I’ll get Desi”

“Can you please take these off?” Frankie held up her hands, shaking the handcuffs. “I think I’ve earned..”

“No, get in the backseat,” Russ said dryly.

“But..”

“No.”

“I just saved Desi’s life and this is how you thank me?”

“It’s not up for debate. Now get in the car, we have lives to save”


	4. Chapter 4

“I think I’ve uncovered the plan”

Riley’s revelation came as they rounded a corner and the car shifted sharply to the right. The passengers scrambled to stay upright. 

“What is it Riles, we don’t have much time?”

“I hacked into their communication and they were talking about the Pompeii Protocol. There's no indication of what the actual plan is, just that name,” Riley admitted. Frankie awkwardly stood to lean into Riley’s laptop.

“Sit down!” Russ shouted from the front seat.

“We need to get out of the city. Now!”

“No, protect the port,” Desi groaned out.

“They're not after the port. They're after the city. The Pompeii Protocol erases whole cities from existence. If we want to get out of here alive, we need to leave now,” Frankie begged.

“How? How are they going to destroy an entire city?” Mac asked. 

“I don’t know,” Frankie said. “Toxic gas, IED’s all over the city, something to set the city on fire, a flood. It depends on the city and it’s infrastructure. If that was Codex, they weren’t trying to destroy the port. They were trying to leave it”

“What do we do?” Riley asked.

Everyone turned to Frankie. 

“Why are you all looking at me now? I’m not the plan person here,” Frankie said glaring at Mac. “Ask him. My plan would be us getting out of here as fast as possible”

Mac shrugged. “Any more luck, Riley?”

“Well, Codex just went radio silent except for one message. ‘Five minutes to clear. All operatives retreat’. That was two minutes ago”

“So we have three minutes to save the city,” Russ commented. 

“Is there any way to call for a citywide evacuation?” Frankie asked. “That’s the best plan now. Save the people”

“No, there’s still time for a plan. Riley, anything else?” Mac asked desperately. The team stared at him weakly. 

Frankie finally spoke up. “We have two minutes, Mac. We can’t save the town, but we can try to save the people. Things are replaceable, people aren’t”

“Matty called for law enforcement to evacuate the town. We should go,” Russ poked his head into the back. 

“No! There has to be another way!” Mac insisted.

“Not this time, Mac. We lost this one, now it’s time to save what we can,” Frankie reasoned. “Speaking of which, we need to get Desi to a hospital. It looks like she’s running a fever”

Mac looked around desperately. “Guys?”

“Save who we can, avenge who we can’t,” Frankie said, devoid of emotion. “I’m sorry”

“That's easy for you to say. You grew up in a world ending cult!” Mac snapped. Frankie recoiled, turning her attention to Desi.

“She needs a hospital,” Frankie muttered, voice devoid of emotion. 

Russ nodded in the front seat and turned the car towards the exit of town. They sat in silence until they were well clear of the city. An explosion sounded behind them, but no one turned to look. 

“Eventually Russ broke the silence. “Can she make it back to the plane or do we need to take her to the closest hospital?” Frankie shrugged in response, looking blankly down at the bloodstain on Desi’s shirt. “Frankie"?

“Uh, I don’t know,” Frankie shook her head.

“She can make it back,” Mac said conclusively. Russ just nodded in response, getting them back to the airport. Riley and Mac helped Desi up the steps, but Frankie didn’t move.

“He hates me,” Frankie whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. Russ spun around, realizing he hadn’t moved.

“What?”

“I did my best and he still hates me. Over something I couldn’t control,” Frankie whispered.

“I don’t think Mac hates you,” Russ said, connecting the dots, “he was angry and needed someone to take that anger out on. You were the easiest target. That's all”

“Was it?” Their eyes locked for a tense moment.

“Enough of that,” Russ insisted, pulling her out of the car. “On to the plane”

He pushed her up the stairs, but his hostility from hours before was gone. Instead it was replaced with something kinder, more of a guide than a shove. Frankie didn’t seem to reciprocate the feeling. The moment she reached the interior of the place, she curled up on a chair with her back to the rest of the world. The plane had barely left the ground and Frankie was fast asleep in the corner. 

Desi was sprawled out over the couch with Mac tending to her. Once he had Desi stable, Russ grabbed his arm. “We need to talk”

They stepped into the cabin and Russ closed the door. 

“Russ?”

“I’m worried about Frankie”

“How so?”

“There’s something there, bubbling below the surface. I’m not sure what it is, but soon it's all going to rise and she’s going to snap,” Russ confessed. “Now, I don’t think it’s anything violent. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would attack us. But she’s been suppressing some strong emotions for quite some and that never ends well”

“I’ll keep an eye on her”

“That's what I’m worried about. She seems to feel some sort of connection to you. I’m worried it may drag you both down,” Russ said flatly. “It's the same sort of thing that happened with you and Codex”

“So, what do I do?” Mac asked, deflated. “Do I push her away or hover or let her decide? We can’t just let her be free to do whatever she pleases”

“I was talking with Matilda and we may have a solution,” Russ rubbed his face. “We give her two options: spend the rest of her life in jail or join our little team. It's not the perfect solution, but it's the only one assures us knowing where she is”

“So like what happened to Riley?” Russ nodded. “I don’t like it but I don’t see any better options. Where would she live? What would she do?"

“Were still working on the details, Mac, but for right now it's all we have,” Russ sighed. “She could live with you or we could find something else that works”

The door slid open and Riley stepped in. “Uh, I was just going to use the bathroom.” She pointed to the bathroom behind them and they parted to let her through. Their phones buzzed with a text. “Or not”

“Matilda wants us to debrief now?”

“I guess,” Riley said. They moved into the main cabin and crouched around the couch. 

Matty popped up on Riley’s computer screen. “I hate to say it but this mission was nothing short of a disaster”

Mac recoiled. “Well, if we hadn’t someone come along…”

“Mac,” Matty interjected. “Where is Frankie?”

“Asleep in the corner,” Russ said. 

Frankie lifted her head. “Who’s that?”

“Or not,” Riley muttered.

“Get over here, Frankie,” Matty called. Frankie joined them groggily. “ So what happened?"

The team recounted the mission to Matty. Frankie sat silently off to the side. When they got to the end of the story, Matty nodded. 

“Why didn’t you tell us about the Pompeii Protocol earlier?” Matty asked Frankie. 

Frankie sighed. “It was supposed to be a last resort thing. I never thought Codex would actually enact it”

“Well, Corpus Christi is now a pile of ash and rubble. So are there any more last resort protocols you feel like sharing?”

“Matty, I swear, I don’t know what Codex is planning. But if they’ve dipped into last resort protocols, they're about to go extreme. Codex aren’t the kind of people to give. They're going to come back with a vengeance”

“So it's only going to get worse?” Desi asked weakly. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Frankie muttered.

Mac noticed her fade away during the briefing. She answered when spoken to and when Matty hung up, she returned to her small corner and fell back asleep. Russ was right, Frankie was teetering on the edge. One wrong sentence and she’d topple over the edge and have some crazy breakdown or violent outburst or disappear and sell them out to Codex.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note
> 
> 1) This blew up overnight! I'm going to post another chapter, but updating will likely slow for a little while
> 
> 2) I wrote this before the episode with Frankie (from MIT), so I do realize that I've doubled up on that name but its not a huge deal

Neither of them slept that night. Mac laid silently, staring at the ceiling and listening for movement in the other room. Frankie may have slept for a little while, since he heard something that sounded like a nightmare early in the night, but if the footsteps were anything she was pacing, and she had visited the bathroom at least four times, based on the flushing. 

Eventually Frankie let out a soft groan and the door creaked open. She made no more noise, but a creaky floorboard at the end of the hall betrayed her. Mac waited a few minutes then walked out into the kitchen. Frankie was nowhere to be seen. 

“Frankie?”

“Out here”

He stepped out onto the deck. Frankie was laying by the firepit, staring up at the stars. Mac laid down next to her.

“You know, I never sleep the first night in a new place,” Mac confessed. “It's so ridiculous, because of all the places I slept in the army. But the first night anywhere, I can’t fall asleep”

Frankie just nodded noncommittally. She seemed to open her mouth to say something, but didn’t. Instead she raised her hand and traced the outline of something. “Aquila”

“What?”

“My favorite constellation. The eagle. The closest star is 16.7 light years away. It was always my favorite”

“Oh,” Mac muttered. “Mine’s Aries”

They laid in silence for a moment, both admiring the stars. Suddenly Frankie made a strangled noise.

“Ever since my mom died, I’ve felt dead. There's this weight on my chest all the time and the shitty feeling I can never seem to shake. Will it ever get better?”

Mac sat up, surprised. He thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. It goes away some and you learn how to cope. But I don’t know if you’ll ever really feel better”

Frankie made the sound again and Mac identified it for what it was. A sob. He leaned over to console her but she turned away, curling into herself. He just set a soft hand on her shoulder. It didn’t seem to help.

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier about it being easy for you to let all those people die. It couldn’t have been easy, but you were trying to save lives, our lives. You saved Desi,” Mac swallowed. “I didn’t thank for that. I’m such an idiot”

Frankie didn’t react or react. She just laid there, crying. Mac stood.

“I’ll be right back,” Mac went into the kitchen and pulled out his tea. He brewed two cups and went back out onto the deck, sitting down next to Franke. “I made some tea”

Frankie sat up sadly, looking at the tea. She picked it up, sipping cautiously. “Why tea?” she asked weakly.

“My friend, Bozer’s, mom used to give us tea whenever we were upset. Something about not being able to cry when we were drinking something and that we had to replace what we cried out. It stuck. I mean, scientifically, it makes no sense but it works somehow,” Mac took a long drink of his tea. “It's caffeinated. I don’t think either of us were planning on going back to sleep tonight” 

Frankie nodded, cup paused at her lips. “No, I don’t think so,” she mused as she sipped the tea. “You mentioned Desi earlier. How is she?”

“Alive and in recovery. The wound was infected, but the doctors took care of it. She was lucky,” Mac said. “And you were good”

“Thank you,” Frankie said with a smile. “I want to help, I really do. But it's been such a shock...I don’t know how to”

“We’re all learning. It's been some interesting times,” Mac smiled. 

“Tell me about it,” Frankie giggled.

“That may be the first time I’ve ever seen you happy,” Mac remarked. They sat together for a moment, sipping their tea. “Have you ever seen Die Hard?”

“Die Hard?”

“Yeah, I’ve got all the movies. Do you want to watch them?”

“Sure. I mean, I’ve never seen them. But, yeah, totally,” 

Mac stood. “I'll go get the TV set up. I have some microwavable popcorn in the shelf by the fridge if you’re up for making it”

Frankie nodded. She took their mugs and went into the kitchen, while Mac went into the living room to start the DVD player. Frankie reappeared with a bowl of popcorn at the same time Mac got the movie playing. Mac sat on one side of the couch, letting Frankie choose how close she wanted to sit to him. She sat about an arms reach away and set the popcorn between them.

They watched the movie in silence. Mac cast occasional glances over to Frankie, who was fixated on the movie. When the movie ended, Mac turned off the TV and turned to Frankie.

“I was wondering about something,” Mac started. Frankie looked up. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but what was it like growing up and being a part of Codex?”

Frankie sat silently, nibbling on a piece of popcorn.

“You don’t have to answer”

“I want to. I just don’t know where to start,” Frankie popped another piece into her mouth. “I never knew anything different. When I was little I was homeschooled. My mom and I moved so much I never had the chance to stay at a school. So I was homeschooled by some of the top researchers and scientists in the country. They wanted to work to make the world a better place, but they missed teaching. Homeschooling me gave them the chance to teach again”

“Bet you got a pretty good education,” Mac said.

“Yep, there is, in fact, a brain somewhere inside this head,” Frankie quipped. “I did some work for Codex when I got older. Worked as a lab assistant and a field researcher. I’d have quite the resume if I were applying for college. Or a job”

Mac nodded. “Any thoughts on what you want to do? For a job? The Phoenix has lots of opportunities. You don’t have to be a field agent”

“So Russ told you about the job offer?” Frankie asked. Mac nodded. “I haven’t really figured it out yet. I think I want to work in the lab for right now. It’s what I know”

“I’m sorry we took you from your life. And I’m sorry about how we’ve all been acting recently. It’s… I… Life has been shit”

Frankie laughed. “It’s okay. I get what you all have gone through. I probably could have been kinder to Desi”

“I think she likes it, deep down,” Mac smiled. “Des has always been a little combative. She understands what you were doing and why you were doing it. I think she enjoyed it a little too”

“Are you two a thing?”

“What?”

“A thing. Like, a couple or something?”

“We haven’t put a label on it”

“Huh”

“What?”

“Nothing”

“Frankie…”

“It's just… You know what, I shouldn't. It's not my place,” Frankie fidgeted awkwardly. She stared at the floor for a second before speaking up again. “Have you and Riley ever…?”

“Riley?”

“I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. There's something there, between you.” Reading Mac’s expression, Frankie backtracked. “ You know what? I’m probably wrong. And way out of line. She’s just a friend”

Mac sighed. “It’s complicated. There's been something there for a while, but I don’t know what it is. We’ve had so many moments together…”

“You know, not all love is romantic. Or sexual. Platonic love is just as real and just as valid as every other type. Maybe your love for Riley is platonic. Maybe it's romantic. But either way, you should acknowledge it”

“Wise words. Did somebody teach you that?” Mac asked.

“My mom. She had a lot of wisdom up her sleeve,” Frankie smirked. “‘There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves’. That was a favorite of hers”

“Who said that?” Mac asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Will Rogers. He was a lot of things, but mainly an actor from the early 20th century. She also liked old movies”

“Can you tell me more about her?”

“She was a great mom. My dad didn’t stick around and mom never dated, but we were happy. She took me to a lot of cool places. She loved to travel to the national parks. Said places like that were what we were fighting for. And she loved animals. We had a dog when I was little and a cat up until two years ago. She was always there for me,” Frankie paused. “I don’t miss Codex, but I really miss her”

“I get it,” Mac rubbed his face. “Are you feeling tired at all?”

“No. You?” Frankie responded.

“Not really. I must have been more awake then I realized,” Mac said. “So, we talked about my dating life. What about you? And special people out there for you?”

“Uh… I never really stayed in one place for long enough,” Frankie blushed. “Though, there is one person…”

“Oh?”

“My mom and I lived in Buffalo for three years. Longest time I’d ever lived in one place. I hated it there, it was way too cold. But there was this person… this girl… named Maureen. Came from a rich family and lived in a huge mansion. We bumped into each other one day at a movie theater and would sneak out on secret dates”

“Maureen?” Mac asked. Frankie nodded. “So you like girls?”

Frankie paled, nodding anxiously. “I… it's not like…” Frankie stuttered. “Sorry”

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I don’t care what gender you like, really,” Mac comforted. Frankie still looked anxious. “I’ve never really told anyone else this, but when I was in college I… did it… with a guy. He was gay and a close friend and I wanted to try it out. I didn’t like it but I’m not one to judge”

“So you don’t…?” Frankie’s hands were shaking. “You’re okay with it?”

“Totally. I really don’t care. Who you like and what you do with them is none of my business,” Mac smiled. “Though, if you bring someone home, you better keep it fairly quiet”

“Noted,” Frankie laughed, allowing Mac to relax and laugh along. “But that’s a two way deal. It applies to you too”

“Absolutely,” Mac agreed. “I do have a slightly more serious question. Do you want to reconnect with Maureen?”

“I don’t know. I really want to, but I can’t bring her into this. If Codex finds out we’re involved, Maureen will be in danger too and I won’t do that to her,” Frankie said. “But I also want to see her again. I miss her”

Mac nodded. “We all want to protect the people we love, but we can’t sacrifice our love to keep them safe”

“That’s deep,” Frankie said. “Is that a quote from somebody famous?”

“No. I do have some gems,” Mac said, smiling. “But Barbara Johnson did say ‘Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved’ and i think those are wise words to live by”

Frankie nodded seriously. She swallowed, eyes darting around the room. “I’ll think about it”

“You do that,” Mac said. “But we’ve got five more Die Hard movies to watch, so I say let's get to it”

“They made five more of those?!?”

“Do you think you can handle them?”

“Do they get better?”

Mac smiled. “No”

“Oh dear,” Frankie swallowed, looking alarmed. She sighed and put on a brave face. “Let's do this. But first, more popcorn”


	6. Chapter 6

Mac was awoken by a loud clattering. He stretched the knot out of his neck and stumbled into the kitchen. Frankie was cooking something and the coffee pot was dripping away.

“What time is it?” Mac asked groggily. 

“8:00 A.M. Matty called and said we needed to be at the Phoenix by 9:30. I assume you like coffee, since, you know, you have a coffee maker in your kitchen.” Frankie poured a cup. “I also answered your phone for you since I saw Matty’s name. Sorry if you think that was presumptuous of me. I sometimes have a hard time with boundaries”

“How many cups of coffee have you had this morning?”

“None. I hate coffee. Makes me sick.” Frankie was smiling more than any sane person should be at 8 in the morning. “Eggs! Do you want eggs?”

Mac set his cup of coffee down, moving around the counter to stop her. She pulled away from his touch, turning back to focus on the eggs.

“Frankie”

“Hmm?”

“Frankie, stop!” Mac grabbed her arm. Frankie lurched away, flinging the cooked eggs all over the kitchen floor. She froze, staring at the mess.

Mac tried a gentler approach. “Frankie?” He asked, loosening his grip. “You’re acting a little weird. Want to tell me what's wrong?”

“The eggs…”

“... are not important”

“I made…”

“Frankie, you’re scaring me a little bit,” Mac placed a guiding hand on her back and they slid down the cabinets to the floor. “Whats up?”

Frankie stared at the eggs. She let out a soft sniffle and poked a bit of egg with her shoe.

“Frankie?’

“I have ADHD,” Frankie blurted. “I can't control it. I haven't taken meds in a week and everything has been so stressful...”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Mac asked.

“Because I barely know you. Because I hate how people treat me when I tell them. Because I didn’t know how you’d react. Because I forgot. There's a million reasons,” Frankie said. “A lot of my symptoms I can suppress. I can hide the mood swings and fidgets and disorganization, but it builds up until I can’t suppress it anymore. And then…”

“Eggs…?”

“Eggs,” Frankie agreed, nodding towards the mess. “Sorry about your kitchen”

“It's fine, it's seen worse. Everything in here is designed to withstand a lot more than a platter of eggs,” Mac smiled. 

“I should clean this up,” Frankie said. 

Mac grinned. “I think that's an egg-cellent idea. I’ll help”

Frankie looked at him. “I’m a little disappointed that's the joke you went with but I should have egg-spected it”

Mac laughed. “You really crack me up”

“And the joke is officially dead,” Frankie declared. She stood up, offering him a hand. “We should probably clean this up”

“We should. And get ready for the workday,” Mac added.

“About that…” Frankie twisted her hands. “I don’t have any other clothes. And these smell. And have egg on them”

“You can borrow some of mine and throw those in the washer,” Mac offered. “We’ll work on getting you more soon”

Frankie nodded, heading off towards the bathroom. Mac cleaned up the kitchen, getting ready himself. Twenty minutes later, they were together in the living room again.

“So, breakfast?” Frankie asked.

“I can’t cook and I’m not making you cook again. We’ll pick something up on the way,” Mac said, picking up his keys. 

An hour later, they arrived at the Phoenix Foundation. An accident on the highway had completely thrown them off schedule and they walked into the war room very late, much to Matty’s annoyance. 

“Care to explain why you two are late, Blondie?” Matty asked. 

“I’ll egg-splain later,” Mac brushed off. Frankie snorted.

“It’s a pretty egg-citing story,” Frankie added. It was Mac’s turn to laugh. 

“If you two are done giggling, we have work to do,” Matty scolded.

Russ cut in. “Sorry, before we start, are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?”

Frankie looked down at herself. “Yes, Taylor, I am wearing my one and only outfit. But if it makes things any better, I washed it”

“You only have one outfit?” Bozer asked, shocked. 

“Outfits don't exactly appear out of thin air”

“We need to fix that,” Bozer commented.

Riley nodded. “We do”

“And when we finish this briefing, you can take care of that problem. But let's get this over with,” Matty said. “Since Corpus Christi, Codex has been growing more and more active. There's a lot that we’re still working to decode. But we have some actionable intel, so I’m splitting up the team. Riley, Russ, Mac, you three will be working on our active leads. Bozer, Frankie, you three will stay here and make sense of what we have. Good luck, and you three are wheels up in thirty”

The team nodded, leaving to their duty. Frankie lingered behind. “Director Webber, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Of course,” she replied.

“First off, I wanted to apologize for my, no, our tardiness this morning. It was my fault,’ Matty nodded. “I also wanted to know how Desi is”

“She’s doing alright. The doctors managed to treat the infection. Desi will make a full recovery and be back in no time”

“Good,” Frankie said, nodding. “And…” she stopped hesitantly. “Never mind”

Matty smiled. “Well, if you feel inclined to talk to me, my door is open”

Frankie went to leave but stopped short of the door. She spoke without looking at Matty.

“I have ADHD,” she admitted. “And sometimes it messes me up, a lot. I thought you should know”

“Okay,” Matty smiled. “I’m thankful for your honesty with me”

“Mac said you would be a good person to tell”

“Well, the Phoenix is home to many egg-centric minds. You’ll fit right in,” Matty said smiling cheekily.

“So you did catch that earlier”

“I assume eggs had something to do with why you two were late?”

Frankie nodded. “I had a bit of a moment that ended in me launching eggs all over Mac’s kitchen.” She shifted towards the door, but paused. “I should probably head to the lab now”

“You should. Bozer will help you get set up,” Matty said.

Frankie stepped towards the door, only to stop once again. “Slight problem. I don’t know where the lab is and Bozer kind of left”

“Well then, let me show you,” Matty replied, smiling at her newest employee.


	7. Chapter 7

“End me now!”

Frankie groaned, slamming her head down on the table.

“Okay,” Bozer said, crossing the laab to Frankie’s table. “Maybe things will be clearer if you talk them out with someone”

“It's not that,” Frankie said, muffled by the table. She lifted her head and looked at Bozer. “It's the way that my notebook is set up. It wouldn’t be a problem if I were giving it to someone who knows Codex protocol but I’m not. Which means every time I come across a shortcut or a Codex term, I end up going down a rabbit hole of explaining and giving context and defining terms and I get nothing done”

Bozer glanced at the notebook. “You really do mean nothing”

“Two pages in the last four hours,” Frankie sighed. “There has to be a better way of doing this”

“Maybe digitize it and create a glossary. Or have Sparky help you”

“Sparky?”

“He’s a dope ass A.I. Mac and I built,” Bozer said, retrieving the robot in question over. “His intended purpose was to help us out in the field, but mainly Russ uses him as a replacement for therapy”

“I’m sorry, he does what?”

“Sparky is meant to imitate human behavior. Essentially, be an A.I. spy,” Bozer said, ignoring Frankie’s question. “Plus his computing power allows him to work a lot faster. He’d be perfect for this project”

Bozer powered Sparky up. The robot whirled to life.”Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met”

“Uh...hi?”

“I’m Sparky. I am here to assist you in any way I can,” the robot’s head turned sharply and Frankie jumped.

“Does he always do that?” She asked Bozer.

“It’s a bug we’re working out,” Bozer replied, resetting Sparky’s head to the proper position.

“There is something you can help me with, Sparky. I have a notebook full of ciphertext that I need to decrypt. If I gave you a cypher, would you be able to decrypt it?”

“Most likely. My decryption software is some of the most powerful in the world. It was designed by…”

“Great,” Frankie opened the notebook to the first pages. “Can you scan these? I can decrypt them for you so you…”

“No need. I can decrypt them myself,” Sparky cut her off. He began scanning the notebook, lights flashing and parts whirring. He seemed to struggle with something, then stopped. “Oh dear, it seems I’m having some troubles”

“Yeah, I kinda expected that,” Frankie said, smirking. “It was designed by a small child and it doesn’t follow any sort of rules of a normal cypher. It’s okay Sparky”

“My apologies,” Sparky said. 

“You’re all good Sparky,” Bozer comforted. “Maybe you can learn from this”

“I will learn from this indeed”

With Sparky working with them, the work went considerably faster. That was unfortunately not true for the other team.

Riley, Russ, and Mac sat in a car, parked outside of a restaurant that Leland supposedly frequented. 

“It could be a front for something?”

“Or it could be a really good Italian place?” Riley replied to Russ. Mac sat silently in the back, staring at the restaurant. “What do you think, Mac?”

Mac jumped. “I don’t know”

“Leland had that painting of Pompeii. That's in Italy, right?” Riley asked. “Maybe he’s got a thing for Italian stuff”

“I think we determined that he has a thing for volcanoes,” Mac jumped in, “if Yellowstone was any indicator.”

“How about you go in and canvas the scene, Riley?” Russ asked.

“Leland knows what I look like…”

Russ shot her a look.

“Actually, I’m craving pizza,” Riley slipped out of the car and headed off to the restaurant.

“Did you figure out what is wrong with Frankie?” Russ asked.

“Yeah. We talked last night. It's… complicated,” Mac shrugged as Russ turned back to him. 

“Is it bipolar, anxiety, or ADHD?” Russ asked flatly.

“ADHD. How did you…?”

“She exhibits stereotypical symptoms: knee bouncing, hand fidgeting, impulsive behaviors, mood swings. She doesn’t look at you when you talk to her. Her thoughts jump from topic to topic and she gets bored faster than the usual fellow,” Russ listed off. 

“If someone said that about me, it’d be true as well but you don't seem so inclined to diagnose me,” Mac shot back.

“It is hereditary,” Russ muttered. “Regardless of the diagnoses, your minds work in similar ways. We could really use that if were going to beat Codex”

“She wants to work in a lab,” Mac said.

“People with ADHD do thrive in familiarity and with a set schedule,” Russ replied as though it fascinated him. “I supposed that would be good for…”

“Did you know she was taking meds?” Mac asked. Russ blinked, evidently surprised. “She takes meds to regulate her symptoms. She told me this morning after she had a meltdown about dropping eggs on the floor”

“I didn’t…”

“Do you even think of her as a person or is she just another pawn against Codex to you?” Mac said, raising his voice with every word.

“I…”

“Who's hungry?” Riley appeared at the window, holding up a pizza box. “No sign of Leland or Codex. I got a medium cheese ‘cause I figured it would be weird to go in and not order. You two hungry?”

“Not really,” Mac muttered, sitting back.

“Should I go back to the restaurant again or are you two boys done?” 

Russ’s phone rang. “It's Matty,” he said, picking up the phone. “Matilda!”

“Glad to hear you’re in a good mood Taylor. Anything to report?”

“No sign of Leland or anything Codex,” Russ replied. “Though Riley did get us some very good cheese pizza”

“Save me a slice,” Matty said sarcastically. 

“How are things going for Bozer and Frankie?” Mac asked.

“They started moving pretty fast once they enlisted Sparky’s help. Frankie said they’re pretty far into compiling the contents of the notebook into something we can understand. Should be done within an hour or two,” Matty’s voice faded as footsteps sounded behind her. “Speak of the devil”

“Sorry to interrupt but we just cracked something really important,” Bozer said.

Russ spoke up. “Is it related to the notebook?” 

“No, but it does pertain to Codex,” Frankie said. “I was looking through some of the files compiled on Codex and I noticed a comment about Codex funding radio stations. So, I did some digging…”

“I thought you were supposed to be working on the notebook,” Mac commented.

“Sparky is doing a much faster job than I ever would. I’ll go back in and clean it up when he’s done, but that’s not important right now,” Frankie said. “I did some digging into Codex funded radio stations and the channels they were broadcasting over. You guys are still in the LA area, right?”

“Yep,” Riley replied.

“Tune your radio to 1600 kilohertz,” Frankie ordered. “Do you hear it?”

The radio buzzed on and off, alternating static and silence.

“That's not a radio error,” Mac realized. “That's morse code”

“But it makes no sense. Some of these aren’t letters or numbers and the words they spell are either seriously mispelled or coded somehow,” Russ pointed out.

“Try listening backwards”

“Okay. Frankie, you're going to have to elaborate,” Riley said, utterly confused.

“Listen to the message backwards. Start from the end and work your way to the beginning. The message will be broadcasted backwards”

They listened for a moment before Russ spoke. “This is excellent. Well done Frankie”

“Thanks,” Frankie said hesitantly. “I’m gonna go back to the lab now and let you adults do your adult things”

Frankie left without another word. Mac waited for the door to close to speak. “How does she seem?”

“Normal,” Bozer responded. “Like, a little too normal. It’s a little worrying. I can’t see how someone who grew up in a terrorist organization is that normal”

“You’d be surprised,” Russ replied. “Children are surprising adaptable”

“She is an adult, Russel. Treat her as such,” Matty chastised.

Russ chuckled uncomfortably. “I didn’t mean she is… she used to be… I know she is…”

“Anyways,” Riley cut in, “I’m recording the message, so we don’t need to worry about that” 

“Do we have an E.T.A. on the notebook yet?”

“No, Russel. There's been no change and asking repeatedly will not change that. But if you had the patience of an actual, mature adult human being, you would understand that,” Matty said. “I assume there's been no sign of Leland?”

“We haven’t really been paying that much attention,” Russ said guiltily.

“I’m sorry….” Matty started.

“I've been watching,” Mac cut in, “and, no, there's been no sign of Leland”

“Well it's good to hear someone is responsible,” Matty quipped. “I’m bringing you all back in. It doesn’t look like”

“Okay, Matilda. Were on our way back,” Russ ended the call. A knock on the car spooked the team. A man in a green hoodie stood outside motioning for them to roll down the window.

“You guys the Phoenix people?” The guy asked.

“Who’s asking?” Riley asked. Russ held up his gun from the passenger seat.

“No need for that dude,” the man lifted his hands. “Some creepy looking oldie paid me two hundred bucks to give you guys a note.” The man passed a note to Riley, who nodded in thanks. The man scurried off without another word.

“What does it say?” Mac asked. 

“We know you have Frankie. And then the little Codex insignia at the bottom,” Riley read. “Oh, and there's something scribbled at the bottom. It looks like the writing in Frankie’s notebook”

“Well that means we’ll have to get it back to Frankie,” Mac said.

“If Codex knows Frankie is with us, everything she’s told us is useless,” Russ said, groaning. “We’ve lost the element of surprise”

“Well, good news, that's not all she’s good for,” Mac added, “And we don’t know what else the message says”

Russ started the car, pulling away from the curb. “Let's find out”


End file.
